Wireless streaming of an audio signal to multiple audio receiver devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9838829-B2
Application number	US-201214647896-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 3, 2012
Priority date	Dec 3, 2012
Publication date	Dec 5, 2017
Grant date	Dec 5, 2017

Abstract

A method of streaming an audio signal from an audio transmission device to first and second audio receiver devices via a Bluetooth link using a protocol that requires an audio data packet to be retransmitted if a positive packet receipt is not received. The first audio receiver device is synchronized to the audio transmission device to enable the first audio receiver device to receive an audio signal stream from the audio transmission device, the second audio receiver device is synchronized to the audio transmission device to enable the second audio receiver device to eavesdrop the audio signal stream to the first audio receiver device. When a positive packet receipt acknowledgement is not transmitted from the first audio receiver device to the audio transmission device, the audio transmission device repeats transmission of that audio data packet irrespective of whether the packet has been correctly received by the first audio receiver device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for streaming an audio signal, the method comprising:
synchronizing a first audio receiver device to an audio transmission device to enable the first audio receiver device to receive an audio signal stream from the audio transmission device, wherein the synchronizing includes using a Bluetooth link, and wherein the Bluetooth link includes repeating transmission of an audio data packet when failing to receive a positive packet acknowledgement;
establishing a time synchronization connection between a second audio receiver device and the Bluetooth link to enable the second audio receiver device to eavesdrop the audio signal stream from the audio transmission device to the first audio receiver device without establishing a Bluetooth link between the second audio receiver device and the audio transmission device,
wherein the first audio receiver device is configured to omit transmitting a positive packet acknowledgement to the audio transmission device after correctly receiving an audio data packet, thereby causing the audio transmission device to repeat transmission of the audio data packet irrespective of whether the audio data packet has been correctly received by the first audio receiver device, and wherein the second audio receiver device is configured to omit sending a packet acknowledgement associated with receiving the audio data packet to the first audio receiver device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first audio receiver device is configured to transmit a negative packet acknowledgement after having correctly received the audio data packet, wherein the negative packet at least partially indicates the audio data packet was not received by the first audio receiver device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first audio receiver device is further configured to omit transmitting any packet receipt after having correctly received an audio data packet.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first audio receiver device is configured to omit transmitting another packet acknowledgement to the audio transmission device after having correctly received another transmission of the audio data packet.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the audio transmission device is a master and the first audio receiver device is a slave.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the audio data transmission device is configured to use at least one of the following: an enhanced synchronous Connection-Oriented (eSCO) protocol, an Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), a Headset profile, and a Hands-Free profile.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second audio receiver devices are hearing aids worn by a person at one of the ear.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the audio transmission device is a mobile phone.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the audio transmission device is a TV audio gateway.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second audio receiver devices are first and second hearing aids worn by a person at one of the ears; and wherein the method includes communicating with third and fourth hearing aids which are worn by another person at each of the ears and which act like and are treated like the second hearing aid to eavesdrop the audio signal stream from the audio transmission device to the first hearing aid.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first audio receiver device is a first audio hub worn by a first person and the second audio receiver device is a second audio hub worn by a second person, wherein the first audio hub transmits the received audio signal to a first hearing aid worn by the first person and the second audio hub transmits the received audio signal a second hearing aid worn by the second person, and wherein the first and second audio hubs use an inductive link for transmitting the received audio signal to the respective at the first and second hearing aids.

12. A system for streaming an audio signal from an audio transmission device, the system comprising:
a first audio receiver device configured to communicate with an audio transmission device and configured to establish a Bluetooth link with the audio transmission device,
wherein the Bluetooth link includes a protocol requiring repetition of transmission of an audio data packet in case of a missing positive packet acknowledgement, and
wherein the first audio receiver device and the audio transmission device are configured to synchronize the first audio receiver device to the audio transmission device to enable the first audio receiver device to receive an audio signal stream from the audio transmission device;

a second audio receiver device configured to establish a time synchronization with the first audio receiver device to enable the second audio receiver device to eavesdrop on the Bluetooth link between the first audio receiver device and the audio transmission device without establishing a Bluetooth link with the audio transmission device,
wherein the first audio receiver device is configured to omit transmitting positive packet acknowledgement to the audio transmission device after correctly receiving an audio data packet, thereby causing the audio transmission device to repeat transmission of each audio data packet irrespective of whether the audio data packet has been correctly received by the first audio receiver device, and wherein the second audio receiver is configured to omit sending a packet acknowledgement associated with receiving the audio data packet to the first audio receiver device.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor, cause a system to perform operations for streaming an audio signal, the operations comprising: receive, at a first device, a link synchronization request from a second device to enable the second device to receive an audio signal stream from the first device, wherein the link synchronization request causes the first device and the second device to engage in a communication protocol for streaming the audio signal stream;
establish a time synchronizing between a third device and the second device to enable the third device to eavesdrop the audio signal stream without engaging the communication protocol for streaming the audio signal stream;
send, via the communication protocol, an audio data packet from the first device to the second device;
determine that the second device failed to send a positive packet acknowledgment based on receiving a negative packet acknowledgment after correctly transmitting the audio data packet;
repeat transmission of the audio data packet in response to determining that the second device failed to send the positive packet acknowledgment; and
receive, at the third device, the repeated transmission of the audio data packet,
wherein the third device is configured to operate without sending a packet acknowledgement of the audio data packet to the first device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the second and third devices are hearing aids.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:
establish service level asynchronous connection-less (AU) connection between an audio transmission device and the second device to maintain synchronization of the second device with the audio transmission device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the communication protocol is Bluetooth.

Assignees

• Phonak Ag
• Sonova Ag

Inventors

• El-Hoiydi Amre

Classifications

• H04W4/003

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W56/001

  Synchronization between nodes · CPC title

• H04L1/1657

  Implicit acknowledgement of correct or incorrect reception, e.g. with a moving window · CPC title

• H04R25/556

  External connectors, e.g. plugs or modules (H04R25/607 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04W88/16

  Gateway arrangements · CPC title